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Safer Spaces at the Community Bike Shop

Compare earthquake-safety choices for a community bike shop using model results, costs, paths, and people's safety needs.

Grade 4ScienceInteractive · Printable

Aligned to4-ESS3-2

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What’s included

Single worksheet
Auto-graded online
1 NGSS standard
Printable answer key
14 questions
Classroom-ready

Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 4
Subject: Science
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Matching, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students compare model evidence about solutions that reduce earthquake effects.
Students evaluate costs, test results, and people's needs when choosing a hazard solution.
Students support a safety recommendation with observations and data.

How to use

Read the investigation and study the graph together. Have students cite model results, cost points, and path observations when they explain their recommendations.

Curriculum

NGSS standard covered

4-ESS3-2

Compare solutions that reduce the effects of natural hazards such as earthquakes, floods and volcanoes on people.

Preview

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Safer Spaces at the Community Bike Shop

Compare model results to reduce earthquake risks for people and bikes.

Study the earthquake models

Read the bike shop team's investigation. Use the graph and the observations to answer the questions.

A Bike Shop Safety Test

The Riverside Community Bike Shop sits near a fault where earthquakes sometimes happen. Bikes hang on racks in the front sales area, and more bikes wait on racks in the rear repair area. The shop team wanted to reduce falling bikes and keep paths open so people could leave safely. They compared two possible changes: wide straps that fasten bikes to a rack and low carts that hold bikes close to the floor.

For the first test, the team made three same-size rack models. One had no safety change. One had wide straps. One used a low cart. Each model held the same number of lightweight model bikes. The team placed each model on the same shake platform and used the same shaking pattern for three trials. They counted how many bikes fell across the three trials. They also recorded the supply points needed for each change: the wide straps needed four points, and the low cart needed two points.

The graph shows the results from these three-trial tests. The team then made the shaking stronger and tested the strap model and the low-cart model once more. Six bikes fell from the strap model, and nine bikes fell from the low-cart model. The stronger test used the same number of model bikes for both designs.

The team also checked two possible paths from the rear repair area. The north path was 1.2 meters wide and took two minutes to walk. It went beside a clear wall. The south path took one minute, but it was 0.6 meters wide and passed beside the bike racks. The shop serves people carrying bikes, pushing strollers, or using mobility devices, so the team wanted a path with room to move.

After the tests, the team had to choose a plan. The shop could spend at most four supply points. Its goal was no more than six fallen bikes in the regular three-trial test and a clear path for people leaving the shop. The team knew that a model test could give useful evidence, but a full-size shop might respond differently in a strong earthquake.